NASCAR » David Pearsonhttp://www.allleftturns.com
The best NASCAR site on the web: Breaking news, drivers, races, rumors, forums, pictures, and video—with a heavy dose of attitude.Tue, 31 Mar 2015 12:10:10 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.2Happy Birthday to A Living NASCAR Legendhttp://www.allleftturns.com/happy-birthday-living-nascar-legend/
http://www.allleftturns.com/happy-birthday-living-nascar-legend/#commentsTue, 23 Dec 2014 15:45:39 +0000Jimmy Machttp://www.allleftturns.com/?p=685372Who is the best of all-time in NASCAR? The popular choice is the “man who could see air;” of course, we speak of the late Dale Earnhardt. Most famous for his intimidating ways, the seven-time champion could rally from laps down to win and do perform feats of renown. Others would opine the greatest was [...]

Who is the best of all-time in NASCAR? The popular choice is the “man who could see air;” of course, we speak of the late Dale Earnhardt. Most famous for his intimidating ways, the seven-time champion could rally from laps down to win and do perform feats of renown. Others would opine the greatest was none other than “The King,” Richard Petty. He dominated the NASCAR scene, and has been a longstanding goodwill ambassador. A living legend celebrates a birthday this week, and some may argue he’s very much in the discussion.

For this fan’s money, the best ever may very well be the “Silver Fox,” David Pearson. Rarely racing a full schedule, the South Carolinian still managed to amass an impressive resume. With 105 Cup victories, Pearson is second only to Petty. For a brief period in the late 60s, he ran a full schedule of races, and not coincidentally, he won three championships.

Back in the 50s, 60s and 70s, racing didn’t pay like it did today. It was also a heck of a lot more dangerous. For much of his career, the Silver Fox raced the better paying races. While some may contend his 16 win season in 1968 was best (earning him one of his titles), check this out: Pearson won 11 races in 1973, while racing in only 18! Interestingly enough, the beloved Benny Parsons won the championship that season with just one win.

A contemporary of Petty, the Silver Fox and the King gave NASCAR arguably its greatest rivalry ever. Other than being great racers, they were different in every other way in terms of temperament, the cars they drove, and the lives they lead. From 1963 to 1977, Petty and Pearson finished 1-2 63 times! In those events, Pearson finished first 33 times, Petty 30. Check out this video (click here) from the 1976 Daytona 500. Racing doesn’t get any hotter than this. At Pearson’s NASCAR Hall of Fame induction Petty said he wouldn’t necessarily say Pearson was the best ever, but no doubt he was the best Petty ever raced against. While Pearson’s victory total pales in comparison to Petty, the King got his 200 in 1,185 starts, Pearson got his 105 in just 574.

Among a unique breed of adrenaline junkies, Pearson may have been the most unique of all. Tests once determined that in the heat of a race, Pearson’s heart rate actually slowed down! While other drivers bask in the glory, Pearson eschews it. As far as he was concerned, the pioneers of racing belonged in the NASCAR Hall of Fame before he did; Pearson wasn’t the hall’s first class with Petty and Earnhardt, he was in the second. “Checkers or wreckers” wasn’t his style; Pearson earned his nickname for laying back, sparing his equipment, then springing on you like a sly old fox in a hen house.

Is he the greatest, who can really know? Refreshingly honest and humble, David Pearson will downplay the fact he is indeed a living legend. Happy Birthday, David Pearson, though youhung up the helmet some thirty years ago, your exploits are the stuff of legend.

]]>http://www.allleftturns.com/happy-birthday-living-nascar-legend/feed/0Rivalries Vs. Feudshttp://www.allleftturns.com/rivalries-vs-feuds/
http://www.allleftturns.com/rivalries-vs-feuds/#commentsThu, 20 Mar 2014 08:40:44 +0000Jimmy Machttp://www.allleftturns.com/?p=684212The one year anniversary of the infamous Denny Hamlin- Joey Logano crash in Fontana raises questions of feuds and rivalries. In the mind of this observer, there’s a difference. One is good for NASCAR. The other is a public relations black eye. Great rivalries are the stuff of NASCAR legend. The King (Richard Petty) vs. [...]

The one year anniversary of the infamous Denny Hamlin- Joey Logano crash in Fontana raises questions of feuds and rivalries. In the mind of this observer, there’s a difference. One is good for NASCAR. The other is a public relations black eye.

Great rivalries are the stuff of NASCAR legend. The King (Richard Petty) vs. The Silver Fox (David Pearson) may have been the greatest in motorsports. Bobby Allison versus Darrell Waltrip was a great rivalry. For a time, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart had a great rivalry. What successful driver did Dale Earnhardt NOT have a great rivalry in his heyday. Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon? He wasn’t called the Intimidator for no reason.

Think about it; these sports building standoffs had a common denominator: these men were winners. It was a motorsports version of the Lakers vs. the Celtics, the Yankees vs. the Red Sox, or the Redskins vs. the Cowboys. It’s about two great opponents bringing their “A” game and settling who is best, and a lot less about rubbing each other out.

Feuding is a completely different ballgame- speaking as one bearing the same family name as one involved in perhaps the greatest family feud of all time (for the record, my family was in Texas, not Kentucky when the McCoys and Hatfields were killing each other). Feuds are just a bunch of bloodshed and boorishness. It doesn’t take all that long before the principals even forget what started it all. In NASCAR, Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch were more of a feud; they weren’t settling greatness, they seemed more bent on wadding up as much sheet metal as possible. Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski was an especially nasty feud. Kyle Busch has engaged in more than one feud, as has his brother. The shakeout of such incidents is not settling greatness, but settling grudges.

Feuds produce hurt feelings, costly mash-ups, injuries, collateral damage and bring embarrassment to a sport. Such activities endanger relationships with sponsors; Jack Roush nearly losing Scott’s over Edwards’ shenanigans and JGR’s partnership with M&Ms nearly fractured over Kyle Busch’s behavior. Suffice it to say, I don’t think they would feel it was worth it. The crew back at the shop isn’t too wild about all the damage to their handiwork, and in general, feeds a negative stereotype that makes NASCAR look more like WWE.

That’s not to say that a good NASCAR rivalry isn’t devoid of trading paint, psychological warfare and intensity. Such things are a by-product of a heated rivalry and not center stage in it. It’s kind of like when Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards were fighting it out for the 2011 Chase. Smoke was always trying to get in Carl’s head, but the real battle was on the track. NASCAR needs more of that, and a lot less of the schoolyard slapping and on-track bullying that has passed for rivalries for the most of recent years.

Here’s hoping Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano stay true to their words. Logano is off to the best start of hs young career; displaying some of the potential envisioned for him as a racing wunderkind. After a lost 2013, Hamlin is back to his competitive form. The two have bigger fish to fry. The truth is, both could be duking it out for a championship if they play their cards right. Now that would be a story, considering where their paths converged previously. It’s a heck of a lot better plot than seeing who can out insult the other, or which driver can succeed at taking the other out more frequently. Let’s leave the feuding to the divas and the backmarkers.

]]>http://www.allleftturns.com/rivalries-vs-feuds/feed/0NASCAR’s Answer To Hank Aaronhttp://www.allleftturns.com/nascars-answer-to-hank-aaron/
http://www.allleftturns.com/nascars-answer-to-hank-aaron/#commentsTue, 01 Oct 2013 04:30:42 +0000Jimmy Machttp://www.allleftturns.com/?p=683322“As far as I’m concerned, (Hank) Aaron is the best ball player of my era. He is to baseball of the last 15 years what Joe DiMaggio was before him. He’s never received the credit he’s due.” – Mickey Mantle in Baseball Digest (June 1970) Sometimes greatness is achieved not by doing one spectacular deed, [...]

“As far as I’m concerned, (Hank) Aaron is the best ball player of my era. He is to baseball of the last 15 years what Joe DiMaggio was before him. He’s never received the credit he’s due.” – Mickey Mantle in Baseball Digest (June 1970)

Sometimes greatness is achieved not by doing one spectacular deed, but by doing several things well over an extended period of time. Though he never hit 50 home runs in a season, Hank Aaron was for 33 years baseball’s home run king. Over the span of his 22 year career, “Hammerin’ Hank” performed at a high enough level to pile up an impressive body of work. Yet, for all he accomplished, he never quite achieved the stature of a Mantle or Mays; some of it due to personality, some of it due to where he played, some of due to the era in which he played.

Jimmie Johnson is NASCAR’s Hank Aaron. Since his first full Cup season in 2002, he has never failed to go a season without winning at least two races, and he has made the Chase every year since its inception in 2004. Not even Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt or David Pearson- arguably NASCAR’s big three can boast five consecutive championships. Only Petty and Earnhardt have won more- with seven each. Racing in an era that has featured some of racing’s best ever: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth- only Gordon (87) has more wins among active drivers than Johnson’s 65. His nearest active competitors is Tony Stewart, who is 17 wins and two titles behind him.

Look at the tracks where he’s won: we all know now about his eighth victory at Dover, a challenging concrete one miler. He also owns eight wins at one of NASCAR’s smallest tracks; Martinsvile. Johnson also boasts six victories at Charlotte, five wins at Auto Club, four at Phoenix, he’s kissed the bricks four times at Indy and four at Sin City. He’s won everything from the gargantuan plate tracks (Daytona and Talladega), and a road course (Sonoma) as well.

Critics can argue the value of his championships because of the Chase format, and the weight it lends to the final ten races of the season. Shall we debate all the competitive advantages Petty had in his day, or the means by which Dale Earnhardt won some of his victories. Before you get upset, we’re just playing devil’s advocate. Championships aside, you can argue all you want, but what Johnson has accomplished in the manner in which he’s done it can not be denied.

Is he the best ever? That can’t be answered. Jimmie Johnson’s career is still going, and there’s no telling what else he’ll cross off his “to do” list before its over. We’ll also concede that NASCAR has been around long enough we can no longer effectively compare the greats of different eras. It makes as much sense as comparing Peyton Manning to Joe Montana or Johnny Unitas. It makes for a fun debate, but it is an answer not knowable.

For all the flak he gets, driving for the “New York Yankees of NASCAR” or having “Cheatin’ (some say) Chad” Knaus, Jimmie Johnson has racked up great accomplishments in one of the most competitive environments ever. Is he THE greatest? Maybe, maybe not. Is he one of the greats? Without a doubt. Like Hank Aaron, Jimmie Johnson may never truly get his due, but the numbers don’t lie.

While he’s never quite dominated in the same way as the most revered figures in NASCAR (the most races he’s won in a season is seven), Jimmie Johnson has raced at a very high level, with an incredible consistency, for over a decade. He may not be that flashy, but what he’s done is impossible to ignore. Hank Aaron had that kind of career and became a kind of baseball royalty of sorts, but he never quite got his due until his career was almost over. People complain about Jimmie Johnson now, but one can’t help but think that when his career winds down, a greater number of fans will more fully appreciate all that he’s accomplished. We’re seeing one of the all-time greats in the 48.

Sunday afternoon at Pocono Raceway, Jeff Gordon joined some very elite company in the NASCAR history books. By scoring the win in the 5-Hour Energy 500, Gordon moved into a three-way tie with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip on NASCAR’s all-time win list with 84 victories.

The only two drivers with more victories than the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet are Richard Petty and David Pearson.

“I really can't even express in words what it means to tie Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison at 84 wins because I just never thought it would ever happen for me, or really when I got in this sport for anybody to win that many races is amazing,” Gordon said.

Unwilling to speculate on his status among the NASCAR greats, Gordon said he will wait until the time is right to reflect on all he has accomplished in his career.

Sunday afternoon at Pocono Raceway, Jeff Gordon joined some very elite company in the NASCAR history books. By scoring the win in the 5-Hour Energy 500, Gordon moved into a three-way tie with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip on NASCAR’s all-time win list with 84 victories.

The only two drivers with more victories than the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet are Richard Petty and David Pearson.

“I really can’t even express in words what it means to tie Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison at 84 wins because I just never thought it would ever happen for me, or really when I got in this sport for anybody to win that many races is amazing,” Gordon said.

Unwilling to speculate on his status among the NASCAR greats, Gordon said he will wait until the time is right to reflect on all he has accomplished in his career.

“You know how I want to be remembered? I want to make it to that speech,” he said. “I’ve been to two Hall of Fame events. I want to be on that stage mixing it up with the other people when that day comes, and hopefully it does, and I want to be able to express it then because I think I’ll have had the moment and the time and the appreciation to truly embrace it and understand what it means.

“I’m just not there yet. I’m just not in that frame of mind to put it in perspective. It would be way too premature to talk about it.”

Gordon was able to accomplish the win on Sunday by getting past Juan Pablo Montoya on the final restart of the day and never looking back after that.

Along with making history with his win, Sunday’s victory – his second of the year – also gives Gordon a leg up on the competition when it comes to making the 2011 Chase.

“There is too much racing left to go,” Gordon said when asked if he felt the win guaranteed him a spot in the Chase. “You have guys like (Denny) Hamlin who are really strong and a bunch of other ones that can ease up. (Greg) Biffle, there are guys that can win multiple races. I feel a lot better about it though. That is for darn sure.”

Progressing into the next phase of his illustrious career, Gordon pointed out simply making the Chase is no longer good enough for the nearly 40-year-old driver.

“I don’t want to just be in the Chase,” he said. “Being in the Chase, at 40 years old, is not enough. That’s cool. Our sponsors like it and all, but that’s not enough. (Alan Gustafson) is too good of a crew chief with too good of a race team. I feel like I’d be letting them down if all we do is sneak our way into the Chase.”

Reiterating he wanted to be a threat for the title, Gordon said the No. 24 is not where they want to be in terms of the overall championship picture, but Sunday’s performance was a step in the right direction.

Coming into the season, Gordon and Gustafson had high hopes and met many of their goals two weeks into the season by winning at Phoenix International Raceway. Yet after that win, the team struggled to put together consistent runs week to week.

“Days like today to me give us that confidence and momentum and show the competition that, you know, they might need to start worrying about us again,” Gordon said. “But we got to do that consistently to show that. That’s why people fear the 48 (Jimmie Johnson). That’s why people fear Carl (Edwards) and the guys that have run up front, because they’re doing it week in and week out.”

Point leader Carl Edwards’ had a rare engine failure early in Sunday’s 500-mile race. Going behind the wall, the No. 99 crew determined a valve broke inside the engine. Knowing how important each position is in the championship hunt, the Roush Fenway Racing team worked vigorously to get the No. 99 Ford back on track before the end of the race, finishing the day 37th.

Following the race, Busch’s No. 18 Toyota failed post-race inspection when NASCAR officials found the left front of the car to be too low. NASCAR will take the car back to the Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. for further inspection. Penalties will likely be announced early this week.